Turkey urges Turkish Cypriot membership in Turkic Council

ISTANBUL

Turkey hopes to see the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) among the members of Turkic Council, the Turkish president said on Nov. 12.

"I trust in your valuable support in easing the isolation and embargo against Turkish Cypriots, who are an inseparable part of the Turkic World," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the leaders of Turkic countries during the council's eighth summit in Istanbul.

Stressing Turkey's determination to fight against "all forms of terrorism," such as that of the FETÖ, which orchestrated a defeated coup in Turkey in 2016, as well as those of the PKK/YPG and DEASH/ISIL, ErdoĞan called on the leaders to increase cooperation on this issue. He added:"We must act together in the fight against Islamophobia and xenophobia that are the plague of our time."

The Turkish leader presented the Turkic world honorary medal to his Azerbaijani counterpart for the country's efforts to liberate Azerbaijan's occupied lands from Armenia in a 44-day conflict last year.

Also stressing the importance of cooperation in climate change and digitalization, Erdoğan said Turkey's largest aerospace and technology gathering Teknofest would be held in Azerbaijan next year.

Erdoğan along with leaders of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) attended on Nov. 2 the official opening ceremony of the council's general secretariat building in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan met with the heads of member states at the secretariat office in the historic Sultanahmet district ahead of the 8th Summit of the Turkic Council.

The ceremony was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Also present was Prime Minister Viktor Orban representing Hungary as an observer state.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov represented his country for the first time as an observer.

Turkic Council Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev also attended the ceremony.

Erdoğan and the foreign dignitaries later left for the Democracy and Freedoms Island in the Sea of Marmara to attend the summit being held under the theme “Green Technologies and Smart Cities in the Digital Age.”

Important decisions on the functioning and future of the organization including the changing of its name to the Organization of Turkic States and the adoption of a “Vision Document” for the next two decades are expected to be taken at the summit, the Turkish Presidency said Thursday in a statement.

Ways to further develop cooperation among the friendly countries in every field will also be discussed at the summit, during which Turkey will assume the presidency of the organization from Azerbaijan.

Also, Erdoğan will hold bilateral talks with his counterparts on the sidelines of the summit, the statement added.

The Turkic Council was formed in 2009 to promote cooperation among Turkic-speaking states.